It is well known that golf bags are used, first, to carry clubs over the golf course, hence requiring access which facilitates the choice of the right club, and second, for transport outside of the course, a function implying complete club protection. Furthermore, bags normally incorporate compartments for balls and other accessories.
Although transport outside the course does not require a particular position, since the entire unit is well closed, transport over the course requires that the bag be open and thus, that it be carried at a sufficient angle, its opening pointed upward and forward to prevent the clubs from accidentally falling out and to allow the clubs to be selected and returned to the bag with ease. For this reason, these bags have a strap or shoulder strap attached, first, near the opening at an upper fastening point, and second, approximately at the middle of the bag at a lower fastening point. The attachment of this shoulder strap is achieved using any sufficient means (buckles, spring snaps, etc.). The strap or shoulder strap is placed on the wearer's shoulder, the opening from which the heads of the clubs protrude being positioned toward the area in front of the wearer. The bag slopes by itself, so that the center of gravity is located approximately on the vertical of the support point on the shoulder. It has been observed that wearers of these bags have a natural tendency to rest the forearm corresponding to the supporting shoulder on the top part of the load, i.e., on the club heads or the parts of the shafts nearest the club heads. This position relieves the arm, blocks the bag to some extent, and, in consequence, reduces the risk that the shoulder strap will slip off the shoulder. It is evident, however, that the forearm resting on these club shafts does not lie in a very comfortable resting position.
The idea may occur to shift the upper attachment of the strap and move it away from the top part of the bag, so as to leave this area free to receive the forearm. This solution can be implemented only with difficulty, since shifting the attachment toward the center of gravity, as well as the forearm support stress, increase the tendency of the unit to tip over, with the attendant risk that the clubs will slide forward out of the bag.
Despite the disadvantage thus described, prior art has described the golf bags on which the upper attachment of the strap lies at a certain distance from the upper opening, without specifically mentioning that the area thus cleared may serve as a support for the forearm.
Patent No. GB-A-400350 discloses a bag for golf clubs having two parts jointed along a common generating line making it possible to fold the bag back in one direction, thus enclosing the clubs for transport outside the course, or in the opposite direction, thus extending the clubs outward for transport on the course. The strap may be mounted on one side or the other and, according to the drawings, at a certain distance from the top part. The possibility for imbalance is here made evident by the fact that the handle, provided in particular for transport off the course and which thus pinpoints approximately the center of gravity in the vertical dimension, is positioned in the immediate vicinity of the upper attachment of the strap. It then becomes evident that the weight of the forearm could easily unbalance the unit, thus giving rise to the above-mentioned disadvantage.
Very similar arrangements of the handle and upper attachment of the strap are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,849,610, 4,091,977, 2,091,298, and 1,696,062. According to other patents, when the bag is closed, the upper attachment of the strap lies at a distance from the top part, but is positioned at the edge of the opening when the bag is open and the part forming the cover is disassembled or shifted. This is the case with to the bags described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,001 and Japanese Published Applications Nos. 59-85680 and 56-36973.